James Cox
There are 316 people waiting for hospital beds this morning which is the highest number so far this year, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).
This includes 267 patients waiting in the emergency department, while 49 are in wards elsewhere in hospitals.
The INMO Trolley Watch last recorded a figure as high on December 15th, 2020.
There were also 316 patients waiting on hospital beds on that date.
University Hospital Limerick has the most patients waiting for beds today, 52, followed by Cork University Hospital, 47, and University Hospital Kerry where there are 23 people waiting for beds.
ICU
As of 8am yesterday, 227 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised, of which 50 were in ICU. 22 additional Covid-19 cases were recorded in Irish hospitals between Sunday and Monday.
Meanwhile, the acting chief medical officer has warned there is 'considerable risk' of a fourth wave of Covid-19 if Ireland reopens too soon.
Dr Ronan Glynn will appear before an Oireachtas committee today to give an update on the fight against the virus.
He will tell TDs and Senators a further wave can be mitigated if social contact remains largely unchanged over the next six weeks.
The warning comes after travel restrictions were eased on Monday.
Covid deaths
The senior coroner for Kildare has called for a speedier system of certification for Covid-19 deaths as figures for the past year indicate a Covid death rate of one in 1,000 and five in 100 deaths in nursing homes.
Professor Denis Cusack told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that there had been a 50 percent increase in nursing home deaths in the past year.
“These figures tell a sad story, the number of deaths in Kildare has gone up by one and a half times, that includes nursing homes, which have borne the brunt of the deaths.”
“I'm hearing figures that one per one million vaccinations might result in a death, but when we look at the figures from Kildare and from around the country — one in 1,000 of our population have died from Covid-19.
“When you look at nursing and residential homes that's greater than 50 in 1,000 — that is five in a 100 — so we've got to get this into context, we've got to remember and learn from these deaths.”
